RV Champa Pandaw

RV Champa Pandaw ship was built in Thailand (launched in 2016) and has as sisterships the fleet mates Laos Pandaw (2015), Yunnan Pandaw (2016) and Sabaidee Pandaw (2018). Champa became Pandaw's second riverboat operating on Upper Mekong cruises. These itineraries visit the 3 countries of the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, Laos) and also China.

The ship has 14 identical cabins (sized 17 m2 / 180 ft2). All staterooms offer as standard amenities twin beds (some converting to double, all with premium mattresses, quality linens, duvet, two kinds of pillows), French windows, air-conditioning, spacious wardrobe, electronic safe box (in the closet), writing desk (vanity with chair and make-up mirror), under-bed storage (for suitcases), en-suite bathroom (WC, shower, washbasin, hairdryer, towels, slippers, bathrobes/kimonos, Spa-branded amenities), unlimited bottled water, Yoga mats (for in-cabin use), nightly turndown service. Onboard 24-hour laundry is also available. On all shore excursions are provided shoe cleaning and cold towel services (after), bottled water (Pandaw-branded aluminium bottles as giveaways), first aid-trained assistant guide.

Next video show some of the vessel's construction stages.

Like on similar Pandaw ships, Champa Pandaw passengers are able to spend leisure time on the aft part of the covered upper deck. Meals are served bistro-style indoor and outdoor on the upper deck. Breakfast is buffet-style but preceded by light bites, tea and coffee for early risers. Lunch is either buffet-style or sit-down (waiter-served, with a la carte menu choices), while dinners are 4-course and waiter-served. Pandaw's food ingredients are locally sourced and always fresh.

Domestic beers, spirits, soft drinks, coffee and tea are complimentary and served on the upper deck at the bar/library lounge. An open-bridge policy is in place. Wi-Fi is slow because of the remote regions travelled. However, some riverside ports in the cruise itinerary feature Internet shops. The ship provides quality mountain bikes available complimentary for passenger use on independent shore trips.

Pandaw Laos-Thailand-China river cruise itineraries

Champa Pandaw ship cruises on the following Mekong itineraries:

• 15-day "Laos to China Upstream" and the reverse "Laos to China Downstream" - prices start from USD 505 pp per day.
• 11-day "The Laos Mekong Upstream" and the reverse "The Laos Mekong Downstream" - prices start from USD 475 pp per day.

Both cruise tour itineraries start and end in Bangkok (homeport) and visit as call ports Luang Prabang (overnight, bus tour to a butterfly park, stop at Kuang Si Falls), Pak Ou (overnight), Pak Beng (market town), Chiang Kong (Laos-Thailand border crossing), Chiang Saen (Thai tribe village visit, Wat Phangao Pagoda), Golden Triangle (bus transfer to Burma's Tachilek City, a visit to a Chinese temple and Shwedagon Pagoda), Ban Dom Moon (afternoon tour of Pok Lok), Sob Luoy Province (Ban Pak Keo, Ban Na Kor, overnight), Guan Lei China, Jinghong China (overnight, Manting Park visit, ship debarkation after breakfast, bus transfer to Kunming for overnight hotel stay, transfer to the airport and afternoon return flight to Bangkok).

Note: You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there.